X-factor star and Gosford resident, Jason Owen, has been nominated as a two-time finalist in the 2021 7News Young Achiever Awards for Community Service and Indigenous Achievement.
He was nominated for the Community Service award for his charity work in supporting kids in isolated and regional areas across Australia, and for the Ausgrid Indigenous Achievement Award for his commitment to Indigenous communities.
Owen grew up in a town 140km west of Dubbo with a population of 12 called Albert.
To follow his dream of becoming a country singer, Owen appeared on the competition show X-factor in 2012.
It was after this achievement that Owen decided to start giving back to kids and families in rural towns.
“Ever since my career kicked off in 2012 on X-factor, I’ve always done what I possibly can to help people around rural Australia,” Owen said.
In 2019, Owen started the charity Doin It For Rural Aussie Kids.
In December, 2020, he undertook a road trip covering 8,000km in 10 days across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, to personally deliver funds, Christmas gifts and groceries to around 800 children at 21 schools affected by bushfires, drought and the fallout of COVID 19.
“We got to see first-hand the drought and how the hard times affected rural Australian businesses, families, farmers – you name it, everything across the board,” Owen said.
“Doin It For Rural Aussie Kids is not just about the kids, but also about supporting rural communities through buying local fuel, drinks, food, and toys we deliver.
“We heard so many different stories about how families couldn’t give their children Christmas presents due to hard times last year.
“School teachers were saying they knew for a fact certain kids probably wouldn’t get any presents because the families were in such a bad way.
“Also, some kids had parents die through suicide due to hardship; it’s heartbreaking.”
This year, Owen hopes to cover even greater distances by aiming to travel to each state.
“I’m really hoping to visit schools and families in all eight states and territories this year,” he said.
“We have already begun planning and will also have several fundraisers throughout the year, including our popular Coins for Santa schools initiative.
“We are expanding, and now because I’ve moved to the Central Coast, I’m also hopefully going to visit some schools and families around this area.”
The annual awards ceremony, which honours 10 different areas of endeavour by NSW residents aged under 30, will take place on April 30 at Sydney’s Doltone House.
“As a proud Wiradjuri man, I’m also greatly honoured to be nominated for Indigenous Achievement,” Owen said.
“I lend support to Aboriginal families when I can and make an effort when I speak to kids to encourage children, particularly Aboriginal children, to dream big and never give up, which is an important message for them to hear.”
Owen was the most nominated semi-finalist in this year’s prestigious competition, which had hundreds of entries.
He also picked up a semi-final mention for the Total Smiles Health and Wellbeing Award for his mental health online content series, How Ya Goin with Jason Owen.
The nominations mark the start of a new phase in Owen’s career.
Unable to tour last year due to COVID restrictions, Owen will release a new album in May – Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The Acoustic Sessions, with the first single, Thank God I’m a Country Boy, to be released on March 15.
Jacinta Counihan